Jordan Tourism...Smartest?

May 28, 2011

Have you noticed all the buzz about Jordan of late? If you follow travel online, you know that Jordan has been a very hot topic. Jordan and Petra have long been on our bucket list and we always thought we'd do Egypt, Israel ( I 've been to both, but the rest of the family has not) and Jordan together.

But we did go to Jordan for 10 days this May and found it to be a peaceful oasis in the Middle East, one of the most peaceful, beautiful and special places that we have been to ( out of 42 countries on 5 continents in these last 5 years).

Sometimes you have to just go yourself to understand what the true experience is.We had always heard that the people of Jordan are some of the friendliest on the planet and we happily found out that is very accurate. They seem to really want you to know and enjoy Jordan.

I've long been a fan of Queen Rania of Jordan and think she has some very good points about how important it is today to break down the many false stereotypes about the Arab world.

Many Americans and even Europeans are afraid to travel to the Middle East and we got many warnings before going.( You are taking your child??) Some have fear of Muslims, yet we have found Islamic countries to be some of the most welcoming cultures ( Morroco, Malaysia, Turkey and Jordan). The Jordanians seem to really love their King and Queen and studies show that people more content with their leaders are happier. It's truly amazing to me that they have become "the neutral Switzerland" of the Middle East.

Our itinerary included the enchanting Dead Sea, Wadi Rum, Amman, Red Sea, Aquaba, Petra, Karak, Mt Nemo ( where Moses was buried) and much more. We were honored to be the only travel blogging family to be invited by the Jordan Tourism Board.

But we are not the only travel bloggers who were invited to Jordan these last few months and I think this makes Jordan Tourism one of the smartest on the planet. They were innovative and took a bad situation of political instability in the Middle East that creates fear and thus lowers tourism, and by working together ( hotels, restaurants, guides, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Tourism Board etc) created a big win/win for all.

Their idea was to let people see for themselves through inviting travel bloggers. We choose not to do normal press trips that most travel writers/bloggers do where a bunch of writers all go to the same place at the same time and do the same things. Sounds so unappealing. But this was done differently and geared to each traveler and at different times. Our trip was geared toward family travel in Jordan. Amongst other things, we're the only one's who went to the wonderful Children's Museum there (the only one of it's kind in the Middle East) which kidlet loved and joyfully connected with Jordanian school kids.

I loved Leslie's post about the value of these kind of travel blogger trips with a great interview with the Managing Director of Jordan Tourism Board. She traveled to Jordan recently with a delegration of tourism leaders. It is not an accident that Jordan's Twitter account @visitjordan is popular and they are one of the most influencial tourism boards online. They're smart!

"Bloggers differ from traditonal media outlets because they give a more realistic, firsthand account of the country they are visiting, especially in times of special circumstance. What is more, their coverage is more immediate and can sometimes be more influential" Nayef Al-Fayez ( Jordan Tourism Board)

As I talked about in our BBC interview about how social media is changing travel, the smart tourism folks are paying attention, while some of the dinosaurs snooze. The statistics on social media and travel speaks for itself. You don't have to be the biggest or richest tourism board or top travel blogger to be influencial, there are many niches within travel. We are all affected by digital and social media today and it can be a winning tool that can help many people. All the people who work in tourism in Jordan ( their top industry) as well as the people who want to travel there but need to know what it's like NOW on the ground. Often times when tourism is down, it's the best time to visit.

We had a quick breakfast meeting with Jodi and Shannon as their last day in Jordan happened to coincide with our first day at the Dead Sea (which we discovered by accident on Twitter), so hooked up, despite being at different hotels. Fun! Mozart is planning on taking her own solo around-the-world trip ( or with her best friend, well traveled Maria in Barcelona), so was happy to get some scoops about such from these two. She was also VERY impressed that Shannon lives near Wizarding World of Harry Potter as she is dreaming of that destination for her next birthday and is HP's biggest fan.

99.9% of our travel remains self funded ( on 23 dollars a day per person) and self initiated because unlike many travel writers and bloggers, that is what we do...travel...as a lifestyle, as a family...non-stop for these last 5 years with no end in sight. The world is our home and school. We don't blog to support our travels or as our way to support ourselves, but as a passion to help others and document our travels for our child. We didn't set out to become digital nomad travel trend setters, but feel a certain responsibility to let others know that they CAN live thier dreams. Or as a friend recently said to us:

"Keep doing what you're doing, you are changing the world, and how people think - and what could be better than that!?!?!" Brooke Ferguson

We tend to like to do our own thing at our own pace, so despite having very high Klout and Peerindex scores, we rarely take the many offers of sponsorship that we get, nor do we do text ads, or sponsored posts that others write as many travel bloggers do, or even guest bloggers. Freedom and loving are most important to us and we want to only support brands/places that we really believe in and that align with our values.

Sometimes it just makes sense, like this trip to Jordan ( and Bhutan the week before) as both were on our way back to Europe for the summer after wintering in Asia. I had always heard wonderful things about the exeptional hospitality and beauty of both. We have a spiritual focus and believe just walking the land in peaceful ways can possibly add positive energy to the region. We love history, educational opportunities and countries with strong spiritual focus. We knew we'd love Jordan and that we could help our readers know more about it through our writing and photos and also help the people who live there that are dependent on tourism and travelers.

I actually almost missed both trips at the last minute, because I was dealing with a very odd but severe digestive problem. Thankfully TSA let me get through all check points with all my herbs from my TCM doctor ( without going though machines) and both the cultures of Jordan and Bhutan understand the value of herbs. Jordan is also known for it's food, so I am glad we didn't miss that!

How long do you think it will take other countries to get as smart as Jordan Tourism has been?

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Too cute! Love the photo of the three of us and so glad we got to meet up while there. The JTB really is spot on with these new blogger trips - the word is getting out within all of the circles, family travel, solo travel, etc about the safety of traveling throughout the country! Love that they tailored the trip to special things Mozart would enjoy as well! :)

Thank you. That was a wonderful post. I hope you didn't feel like you had to justify your trip or what you do to anyone. I think you are all amazing and I look forward to each of your posts. Enjoy your sunshine in Spain - it is still freezing cold here in California!

No, I didn't feel like I had to justify anything, I just thought I'd take the opportunity to make my personal objectives clear because some people don't understand about blogging, sponsored posts and even what is normal with travel writing.

I didn't realize it either when we began as I didn't set out to be a travel writer and this is more a labor of love.

We have been to so many places and have so many stories, photos, videos etc that we could make a lot more money from that, but that takes a lot more work than what we are willing to do.

If I am working all the time, then I lose my main goal of freedom and having time with my family,no?

Because we didn't set out to do this, we are always walking that fine line of sharing in a win/win way...for us, for our readers, for everyone while maintaining our freedom which is the primary goal. ;)

Wow, great photos. I must admit, I've been hesitant to journey to some countries in the Middle East, but your trip looks amazing. It's a real eye opener when you see others going, and really smart what the tourism board is doing to attract attention. Great stuff! Thanks for using my quote, and enjoy your travels!!

Great post-- and thanks for the shout :) It seems like more tourism boards are reaching out to bloggers, which is a smart move. I've learned a lot about countries I've never visited from reading your posts and those of fellow bloggers. Hope your health issues clear up soon-- sounds like they haven't hampered your adventurous spirit!

Great post! Great pictures and content but even greater for helping to break the grounds! We need more people like you and I to really affect change in this world and not corner people into stereotypes. Thanks!